Before heading to downtown Portland for a Friday of antique and vintage shopping, we stopped into Baker and Spice on Capitol Highway, which was just down the road from our guest house. We sat in a cozy corner with café au laits, a chocolate croissant, and a savory scone. It was pretty well packed inside, with the friendly feel of a local community hub. This was the one day we had encountered all week in Portland where the sky was overcast and threatening lots of rain, so it made for the perfect time to explore more indoor shops.

We had a list of recommended vintage ones to check out. We didn’t make it to all of them, but of the handful we did check out, our favorites were Vintage Vendors (2800 NE Sandy Blvd) and House of Vintage (3315 SE Hawthorne Blvd).

House of Vintage is huge and they have a ton of clothing and kitschy retro goods to rifle through. It really started to pour down while we were inside, so we took our time and waited out the rain by searching for treasures. Somehow, we managed not to find anything that we absolutely had to take home with us. I think that on this vintage shopping trip, we were both looking for very particular pieces.

Vintage Vendors had more actual antiques in their shop. The store is divided up into individual vendors’ sections, so the prices vary from one area to another. One booth had a vintage banana crate with bold graphics, something that would have made an awesome coffee table (we have a banana crate in our bathroom at home, which we turned into a stand for towels and toiletries).

In total, we made a pretty full morning and afternoon by stopping into about five different shops. We didn’t make it to Antique Alley, Red Light Clothing, or Naked City. Those will have to wait until the next time we are back in Portland. Another one we stopped into, Hollywood Vintage, really had more costumes than vintage, but their selection of eyeglasses was impressive. I saw Sarah admiring a few pairs of 1920s spectacles. Suddenly, she is very interested in getting herself some reading glasses!

In our minds, there was only one place to go to for lunch on our last day in Portland: the legendary Cartopia! Throughout this entire trip, I was guilty of taking every opportunity I had to stop at any food cart that caught my eye. I especially wasn’t going to miss out on eating here since this particular lot’s days are numbered (at least for the time being; hopefully, things work out). It was early afternoon and only half of the Cartopia food trucks were open; still, they were exactly the ones we had been craving. First, we ordered a crepe with plantains, dulce de leche, rum, and butter from Perierra Crêperie. They made it fresh right when we ordered, and it was delicious!

Our second course was an amped-up peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich from PBJ’s Grilled. The Hot Hood sammies have peanut butter, bacon, jalapeños, and cherries, all between two buttery, grilled slices of challah bread. It shouldn’t have been that good, but it was. It was incredible. The photos are making us hungry even as we write this:

After lunch, Sarah and I made a pilgrimage to Fred Meyer, which turned out to be more of a mall-sized Walmart than a regular grocery store. We picked up some road trip food, Tillamook yogurts, a variety of chocolate bars, and salmon chowder for dinner. We were both starting to feel melancholy about leaving in the morning.

The rest of the evening we packed everything, washed our stinky beach finds, and took a fairly long, peaceful walk around our immediate neighborhood and the surrounding ones. People always talk about how a long trip makes one eager to get back home to a normal routine. But this trip had the complete opposite effect. Both of us were still eager to explore more of Oregon and we felt bummed that we had run out of days. The only consolation we had was that we were taking three days to get home instead of two, which meant that we could have longer, more interesting stops.

Since the plan for this leg of our trip was to spend the entire day downtown, we parked in the food cart lot at 10th and Alder for $11, which covered the whole day.

It was only a quick stroll around the corner to Powell’s City of Books. We were hungry and knew we were going to need some caffeine to fuel our book hunting. The cafe inside Powell’s is cozy and inviting. They allow customers to bring a stack of five books into the cafe, so anyone can pour over the pages while drinking World Cup Coffee and eating a scone or two. The baristas were down to earth and, like everywhere else, the price was amazingly low for a cup of joe. Woo! No sales tax!

I happened to be wearing my 1920s wave clips because my hair takes longer to dry in humid climates. Interestingly enough, the lady behind us in line complimented me on my hairstyle; aluminum clips and all! After that, we picked a seat next to the window and drank two cafés au lait with some very good, hot scones.

Chris and I are book fiends. He likes the classics, political commentaries, religious expositions, and history books. My heart belongs to adventure novels, women’s travel writing, natural history, and decorating books. The Powell’s store on Burnside has five floors and counting with abundantly more than enough books to satisfy any literary appetite. We each went our respective way and ate up the hours searching the shelves and adding to our piles. They sell both used and new books at competitive prices, so it is dangerous if someone has no willpower. Those rare volumes will call to you from the shelf!

I filled a basket in the traveling section and then moved to the next building, where I filled a basket with natural history books. Chris didn’t have a huge pile, mostly because the books he was looking for were either at the other location or in one of their warehouses.

All in a day’s find at Powell’s City of Books! We spent a total of four hours there, and we probably could have stayed longer if the food carts weren’t beckoning us from across the street! With more than 60 trucks to chose from, it took us a few laps around the block to decide where to start. I really wanted Korean tacos, so we jumped in the line for Korean Twist.

Korean Twist is everything you could love about Korean food, but with the added bonus of being wrapped up neatly in a flour or corn tortilla. We had a taco each; mine was beef bulgolgi with kimchi and Chris had spicy pork with kimchi. It was as incredible as we imagined it might be! We both inhaled our tacos and began hunting down the next truck to sample. The smell drifting from Emame’s Ethiopian truck lured us in and we ordered a plate of Siga Watt (a beef version of Chicken Doro Wat) and Gomen Wat cabbage.

One might assume that Ethiopian from a truck might be inferior, but it was as good as any that we’ve had in restaurants. The injera bread was fresh-tasting and they didn’t skimp on how much they gave us. The Siga Watt was spicy and we could taste the slow-cooked onions and complex layers of spice. If you love Ethiopian, or if you’ve never tried it before, this food truck is well worth the stop. The plate was only $8.00!

Look at that deliciously intense color. Lots of turmeric and Berber spice mix give the dish its signature color and kick!

After lunch, we stopped into a few nearby shops. Magpie Vintage had a collection of Edwardian and 1920s dresses that made my heart flutter. I was forced to resist the urge to try them all on, or to just rob a bank so I could afford to own them all. There was a black, Edwardian hat with an ostrich plume that I was certain belonged on my head. I waited a moment, hoping a kindly stranger would walk in and offer to buy it for me. Sadly that never happened.

Of all the vintage shops we perused, Magpie’s had the most authentically vintage pieces. Most of the other “vintage” shops we browsed through were more like musty basements filled with hideous nineties clothing.

If you are reading this, Magpie Vintage, send me that hat and I will “review” it for you 😉

We thought ahead and picked up a giant burrito from Korean Twist to have for dinner. This time, I paused to take a photo just before devouring. Layers of veggies, cilantro, bulgolgi beef, kimchi, and rice; oh my! We both hunkered down with our books and spent the rest of the evening reading.

At the recommendation of our hostess, we took a drive over to Tasty n Sons on Williams Street for an incredible brunch. They encourage sharing, with a practice of bringing out their dishes one-at-a-time. First, Sarah and I ordered two of the Chocolate Potato Doughnuts with créme anglaise. They’re so moist and decadent, not to be missed by chocolate lovers. Next came the Moroccan Chicken Hash, which we split. The hash consisted of a mix of greens, veggies, potatoes, and chunks of shredded chicken topped with an egg. This is a dish that’s served with harissa cream, to boot, so I simply can’t imagine anyone not enjoying it. Even after that, the menu was still calling to us and we still had room to spare, so we ordered the North African Sausage with an over-easy egg, couscous, and cauliflower. The sausage consisted of lamb and the dish was a mix of sweet and spicy, incorporating cherries and apricots with traditional north African spices. We both love Moroccan cuisine and this brunch tantalized all the right taste buds!

Our next stop for the day was the Hoyt Arboretum, which is located across town near the Zoo. Out of all the places we visited in Oregon, the Arboretum was one of the most awe inspiring. There is something magical about the meandering trails, the gargantuan trees, and the overgrown appearance of everything swathed in moss and ferns.

The Hoyt Arboretum was founded in 1928 and there are more than 6,000 plant specimens living there.

Sarah and I took several trails and spent a few good hours exploring the grounds. It was a cool morning, so the complimentary tea inside the visitor’s center was a welcome treat.

The forest smelled like cedar and damp soil. The first loop we took was the Redwood Trail, one which was supposed to take an hour. It didn’t take quite that long.

Everything was overwhelmingly green and we felt so incredibly small compared to the fortress of trees lining the path. The redwoods were as impressive as one might imagine! I highly recommend taking that particular trail, at least, if you don’t have time for more.

We started on the Redwood, but no matter how we tried, we couldn’t seem to stay on one trail. We didn’t care, though, because this is a place one would be happy to get lost in. We saw wildflowers, bunnies, a variety of birds, and a handful of other hikers along the paths. We also ventured onto the Fir Trail after coming back to the entrance. The map said the Fir Trail would take about 30 minutes, but just as before, we took the loop in far less time even without having to rush.

We hardly put a dent in the map of trails and both of us felt like we could stay there the rest of the day. If it hadn’t rained over those next few days, we probably would have come back for another reflective hike in the woods.

We were starting to work up an appetite, so we thought it would be fun to check out a local sushi place. We chose Sushi Ichiban because it was affordable; plus, the sushi comes out on a toy train!

The plates of sushi come speeding past you on a Southern Pacific model train. We were newbies at this, so I was always nabbing the sushi of our choice just as it rounded the corner. There, the price of the sushi works on a plate color system. The tan was $1 and the red flower plates were the most expensive, closer to $3. At the end, the waitress simply tallied up our plates and wrote up a bill.

The sushi was good; not amazing or world-class, but better than one might expect for the price. We didn’t put in any requests, but simply chose from what was already being put onto the train. The avocado, asparagus, and cream cheese roll was great, as was the Eliza Roll, which had a piece of tempura sweet potato in it.

The wait staff was friendly and personable. In the end, we ate a very affordable, fun lunch, around $16 in total for about a couple dozen pieces.

On the way back to our place, we swung by the Food Front Cooperative Grocery. We picked up a half dozen duck eggs, Portuguese sausage, and local clam chowder.

Sarah managed to whip up dinner on the tiny stove. Even before leaving on vacation, Sarah had made a mini spice kit to bring along with us. She simply used a stack-able pill container set and chose her most essential spices.

Eating dinner on the patio. The duck eggs were enormous and the Portuguese sausage tasted just like the type we have had in musubi before. The clam chowder was definitely superior to the kind we tend to get further inland. We used leftover chutney from Bollywood Theater, too, just to jazz up the duck eggs.

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